7th Circ. Judge Doubts RE Co.'s Lost Evidence Coverage Bid

By Lauraann Wood

A Seventh Circuit judge seemed skeptical Monday of a real estate company's bid to pursue insurance coverage for a settlement resolving a hotel employee's underlying evidence spoliation claim, suggesting the company may be asking the federal court to go further than any Illinois court has previously been willing.

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Chicago Firm Says Insurer Can't Maintain Wire Fraud Suit

By Hope Patti

A Chicago law firm accused of failing to spot an email fraud scheme that diverted settlement funds intended to resolve an abuse suit against a church asked an Illinois state court to toss an insurer's suit, saying the carrier failed to establish that it is subrogated to the church's rights.

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Pharmacy Tech's COVID Vax Bias Suit Falls Short At 7th Circ.

By Patrick Hoff

The Seventh Circuit refused to reopen a suit alleging an Illinois county hospital fired a pharmacy technician for requesting a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine, saying it was bound by a recent ruling nixing a similar case.

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Meta Looks To Toss Facial Data AI Training Claims

By Celeste Bott

Meta Platforms Inc. has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out a proposed class action accusing it of illegally harvesting Facebook and Instagram users' facial data to train artificial intelligence models, arguing that the plaintiffs cannot show their specific photos were used and that the company is exempt from Illinois' biometric privacy law because of its financial services subsidiary.

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Firms Must Face RICO Claims In Asbestos Fraud Suit

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Friday held that Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and Sokolove Law must face racketeering claims brought by a Los Angeles industrial pipe manufacturer alleging that the firms brought baseless asbestos claims, finding that an antitrust doctrine shielding those who petition the courts does not apply.

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United Airlines Escapes Ex-Pilot's Military Bias Lawsuit

By Patrick Hoff

United Airlines defeated a former pilot's lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to reinstate him following a lengthy furlough he took to serve in the Air Force Reserve, with an Illinois federal judge ruling he hadn't provided evidence that anti-military bias tainted the airline's decision.

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Med Group Ordered To Return $750K Overpayment To Insurer

By Gianna Ferrarin

A pediatric specialty practice group must pay Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co. upwards of $750,000 it received as an overpayment after the group surrendered its policies, an Illinois federal judge ruled Monday, finding the provider breached its contract by failing to surrender the funds.

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High Court Disbars Judicial Watch Founder Larry Klayman

By David Minsky

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disbarred Judicial Watch founder and Florida conservative activist attorney Larry Klayman following his 18-month suspension issued last year by the D.C. Court of Appeals. 

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DOJ's Civil Division Head Joins Agency Exits After Midterms

By Jack Karp

The leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, Brett A. Shumate, on Monday became at least the fifth top DOJ official to step down following Republicans' defeat in last week's midterm elections.

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Trump Eyes OLC Chief For Texas Judgeship After Midterms

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump is considering the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel for a federal judgeship in Texas, a process that started right after the Democrats won big in last week's midterm elections.

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Goldstein Says Gov't Conceded Key Trial Errors

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein told the Fourth Circuit that the federal prosecutors who netted 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions effectively conceded they hid evidence by steering a key witness to new testimony mid-trial and had reversed their stance on jury instructions, two key issues in Goldstein's appeal.

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AAA Says Consumers' Monopoly Claims Lack Factual Support

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association is lashing out against consumers who accuse the institution of monopolizing the consumer arbitration services market, telling a federal judge on Monday that they should be sanctioned for including "false, misleading, and unsupported allegations" in an amended complaint.

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Wash. Panel Nixes $10K Sanctions On Monsanto PCB Attys

By Rachel Riley

A Washington Court of Appeals panel has overturned a combined $10,000 in sanctions against four attorneys who defended Monsanto from chemical poisoning claims, concluding Monday that the trial court overstepped its authority by personally punishing the lawyers for late disclosure of expert witnesses.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week cleared the way for Cloudflare Inc. to seek immediate review of an injunction blocking a stock restructuring designed to preserve its founders' control, while setting a January hearing in a similar dispute over Meta Platforms Inc.'s plan to create nonvoting shares.

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